Method of using permeable membrane in the debulking of cmc prepreg material

A method comprising

• arranging a layup of prepreg ceramic plies on a layup tool,
• overlaying a bleeder membrane over an exposed surface of the layup of prepreg ceramic plies,
• overlaying a thick breather layer over the bleeder membrane,
• overlaying a vacuum stretch bag over the thick breather layer,
• sealing the edges of the vacuum stretch bag to the layup tool,
• infiltrating the layup with a matrix material, and
• applying a vacuum pressure to withdrawn air between the vacuum stretch bag and the layup to bleed excess matrix material over an entire surface of the layup to compact the layup thereby minimizing bulk of the layup,
• wherein the thick breather layer configured to absorb excess matrix material and the bleeder membrane is configured to enable the matrix material to escape from the surface of the layup as the vacuum pressure is applied so that the excess matrix material is uniformly bled in a thickness direction from the layup to provide a homogenous distribution of the matrix material.